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IL - Endia Martin, 14, shot to death, Chicago, 28 April 2014

Very sad. Endia had an argument with a close friend and agreed to meet her, thinking they were going to resolve their differences. Instead, the "friend" brought a group of people with her and a stolen gun. The girl shot Endia in the back like a coward!

Endia's stepfather, Kent Kennedy, said the family recently moved Endia to Tilden Career Community Academy, closer to home, to keep her safe. Endia was killed about half a mile from her South Side home.

"No place in Chicago is safe for teenagers nowadays," he said. "No place is safe. ... It's senseless. Kids are dying so young nowadays. It's senseless. Parents shouldn't have to bury no child."

Yes, this is happening far to often every where in this country. What is happening to our youth

RIP, Endia.

"Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk."
- Henry David Thoreau

The argument Endia and her friend had was over a boy. At 14 years old! It's not worth kids losing their lives over.

Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told reporters earlier in the day that the girls were fighting over a boy. According to prosecutors, the suspect went to a residence in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the city’s South Side at about 4:30 Monday afternoon to continue a fight that began on Facebook.

"Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk."
- Henry David Thoreau

Tuesday night, police charged a second person, a 17-year-old boy, with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and other charges for allegedly trying to discard the murder weapon, a .38-caliber handgun. Earlier Tuesday, police Superintendent Garry McCarthy hinted to reporters that a 24-year-old uncle of the suspect's also was being questioned for giving the gun to the girl, knowing “there was going to be a fight,” he said.

"Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk."
- Henry David Thoreau

An honors student charged in Endia's murder appeared in juvenile court Tuesday with her hair braided and tied with a ribbon, licking her lips nervously and softly answering questions from a judge. The Tribune is not identifying her because she is a juvenile.

A different portrait of the suspect emerged from her social media activity on Monday.

“Bout to beat some a--” the girl tweeted about two hours before the fatal confrontation. She also posted a photo on Facebook of herself sticking out her tongue and holding up her middle finger. The photo was captioned: “I Don't Chase Em ' I RePlace 'Em.”

If the suspect is an honors student, you really have to wonder about the quality of education in that school. SMH

"Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk."
- Henry David Thoreau

"Assistant State's Attorney Kathleen Kain says the alleged shooter went to West Garfield with a large group and approached Martin. Kain says the suspect pulled out a gun and tried to fire, but the gun malfunctioned. Another person in the group fixed the malfunction, and the girl fired the gun, hitting Martin in the back, according to Kain. Another girl was also hit in the upper arm."

The uncle of a 14-year-old girl accused of killing a classmate during a fight over a boy has been charged with giving his niece the murder weapon and accompanying her to the fight in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.

snip

An eyewitness said Endia and the other girl who was shot ran across six lanes of traffic on Garfield Boulevard to try to escape, but by the time she reached the back door of a nearby home, the suspect shot her four times.

This is an epidemic in our country: many young people simply do not value their lives or the lives of others. As a country, we need to get our priorities straight and figure out how to repair the culture in this country. Something just is not right.

<snipped>
Donnell Flora, 25, appeared at the Cook County Courthouse Wednesday on a first degree murder charge and a further charge of aggravated battery with a firearm in the shooting death of 14-year-old Endia Martin.

<snipped>
After the shooting, prosecutors say the 14-year-old suspect gave the gun back to Flora, who then gave it to a 17-year-old to hide. That 17-year-old was also charged in connection to the Back of the Yards shooting Tuesday and is expected to appear in court Thursday. He is charged with illegally having a gun, using it and then trying to get rid of it after shooting.

Why an adult would encourage a teenager to use deadly force for a petty argument is beyond me. I'm glad Flora is charged with 1st degree murder. He needs to be held fully accountable because he had the opportunity to defuse the situation.

"Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk."
- Henry David Thoreau

<snipped>
A South Side man left paralyzed after he was shot in 2010 handed his 14-year-old niece a loaded revolver that he knew she planned to use to confront a longtime friend over an argument about a boy, Cook County prosecutors said today.

<snipped>
Donnell Flora, 25, who appeared in court in a wheelchair, wiped his face with his hand as a judge told him he was being charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. He was ordered held on $3 million bail.

<snipped>
Flora took a bus to meet his niece after she had requested a gun to use in the fight, said Assistant State’s Attorney Jaime Santini. He handed her a loaded .38-caliber revolver near the scene of the shooting, he said.

"Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk."
- Henry David Thoreau

I'm a lifetime Chicagoan. I love my city.
But I'm 33 and back when I was a tough Southside teen, beefs were handled by a hair pulling, knock down, drag out fight. Even girls. I've seen it dozens of times. Chalked it up to growing up in a rough city with tough kids.
But guns? These kids handle their petty fights with bullets nowadays. Breaks my heart.
This is why I raise my son in the suburbs. I'm sure it still happens, but the climate, the vibe, the general milieu is different in the less urban, gang infested areas.
Disrespect. It's all about perceived disrespect. "That's my man, G. Stay away or get a cap in your ass." This is four corner hustle territory over there. That's a gang name.
14. Just a kid.
May God have mercy on this murdering girl and her cousin. But may Cook County show no mercy and instead, show an example to the teens hustlin on the Southside. Life in prison. End game.

<snipped>
The gun, which police initially reported as stolen, led to charges Wednesday against a man who wasn't involved in the murder and claims that he knew nether the victim nor her alleged killer.

Robert James, 34, was charged in connection to Endia's murder for illegally selling his firearm and then making a false report that it had been stolen in November.

<snipped>
In a video that captured the incident, Santini said Redwood was standing next to the 14-year-old shooter with two other girls nearby — one armed with a bottle and one armed with a pipe.

When police questioned Redwood about it, she lied and said she wasn't there, Santini said.

Incidents like these can't be blamed directly on outside influences on today's youth because this incident, at least, was encouraged by some adults. I've never heard of adults becoming involved in controversies over teen romances/crushes.

"Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk."
- Henry David Thoreau